The Widow

John Grisham’s 2025 legal thriller, The Widow, follows Simon Latch, a disillusioned small-town lawyer whose personal and professional life is in shambles. When an elderly widow, Eleanor “Netty” Barnett, hires him to draft a new will for a secret multimillion-dollar fortune, Simon sees a chance to escape his financial desperation. He schemes to gain control of her wealth, but his plans unravel after Netty’s death is ruled a murder and he is charged with the crime. The novel explores The Corrupting Influence of Greed, The Inevitable Collapse of a Life Built on Deception, and The Fallibility of the Justice System.

As one of the most successful authors in contemporary American literature, John Grisham is renowned for popularizing the modern legal thriller. A former criminal defense and personal injury lawyer in Mississippi, Grisham draws on his legal experience to craft intricate plots known for their authenticity. Many of his more than 40 novels, including bestsellers like The Firm (1991) and The Pelican Brief (2006), have been adapted into major motion pictures.

The Widow builds on Grisham’s signature style by grounding its suspense in a specific, real-world economic detail: the one-year repeal of the US federal estate tax in 2010. This legislative anomaly provides the financial incentive for the protagonist’s high-stakes gamble, creating the urgent context for his ethical downfall and subsequent fight for his life.

This guide is based on the 2025 Doubleday hardcover edition.

Content Warning: The source text and this guide contain depictions of illness, death, substance use, graphic violence, emotional abuse, and suicidal ideation.

Plot Summary

Simon F. Latch is a burnt-out, small-town lawyer in Braxton, Virginia, handling a dreary caseload of bankruptcies and minor disputes. His marriage to Paula is failing; to avoid conflict with her and their three children, Buck, Danny, and Janie, he secretly lives in a small apartment above his office. He also maintains a sports gambling habit through a local bookie named Chub. Simon’s routine is disrupted when Eleanor “Netty” Barnett, an 85-year-old widow, hires him to draft a new will. She confides that she is secretly worth over $20 million in stocks and cash. Netty’s current will, prepared by local lawyer Wally Thackerman, places her entire fortune into a trust that Thackerman alone would control, a decision she now regrets.

Seeing an opportunity to escape his financial and personal troubles, Simon plots to gain control of Netty’s fortune. He lies to his secretary, Matilda “Tillie” Clark, about the case to keep her from discovering his plan. He secretly meets Netty at a Starbucks, where he examines Thackerman’s will and confirms it grants the lawyer total control and excessive fees, including a hidden cash gift of $485,000. To verify Netty’s story, Simon hires a shady investigator, Spade, who locates her financial advisor, Buddy Brown, a principal at a high-net-worth wealth management firm in Atlanta. A brief, confirming phone call from Brown solidifies Simon’s belief in Netty’s wealth.

Simon secretly drafts and has witnessed a new will for Netty that establishes a foundation for local charities but names him as its sole executor, trustee, and attorney, giving him complete control and the ability to charge substantial fees. Matilda, however, becomes suspicious after learning about the signing from a friend.

Two months later, Netty’s estranged stepson, Clyde Korsak, finds a letter from Thackerman on Netty’s desk and violently confronts the lawyer, demanding to see the will. After the assault, Simon hides Netty at a hotel. Meanwhile, Simon’s personal life deteriorates as he and Paula inform their devastated children of their impending divorce. His gambling debts escalate.

On December 17, Netty causes a serious car accident while driving under the influence with a canceled insurance policy. At the hospital, in the absence of any family members or friends, Simon is pressed into acting as her legal and medical proxy. He has her sign a power of attorney and an advance directive. While searching her house for financial records, he finds no statements and fears the fortune is a lie. However, he discovers a small, hidden notebook containing handwritten quarterly updates of stocks and cash, seemingly confirming the $20 million. Netty’s health declines, and she is diagnosed with pneumonia. Meanwhile, Clyde’s brother, Jerry Korsak, accosts Simon and demands to know the details of Netty’s will.

On December 30, after she is declared brain-dead, Simon reluctantly agrees with her doctors to remove her from the ventilator, and she dies. An anonymous tip to 911 reports her death as suspicious, halting Simon’s plan for immediate cremation. The Korsak brothers’ lawyer, Teddy Hammer, obtains an injunction for an autopsy, which reveals that Netty died of thallium poisoning. The poison is traced to ginger cookies that Simon purchased and had Matilda deliver to the hospital.

Simon is indicted for first-degree murder and hires renowned defense attorney Raymond Lassiter. The case becomes a media sensation, and Simon is publicly condemned. After a week in jail, he is released on a $300,000 bond, which he secures by selling his office building to Chub. Just before the trial, following a petition by the Korsak brothers’ lawyer, a court-appointed conservator, Clement Gelly, is assigned to the estate. Clement discovers that Netty’s fortune was a fabrication; her late husband had lost everything years earlier when his resort investment was destroyed by a volcano. Her actual estate is worth only about $630,000—still a sizable amount for Braxton, but not the windfall Simon had dreamed of.

At trial, the prosecution uses testimony from Simon’s secretary, Matilda, and evidence of the will to portray him as a greedy lawyer who killed his client for money. The defense counters that dozens of hospital staff had access to Netty’s room and that the prosecution has no direct evidence linking Simon to the poison. The jury finds Simon guilty of first-degree murder.

The judge allows Simon to remain free on bond until his sentencing, giving him 84 days of freedom. Disbarred and facing a life sentence, Simon dedicates himself to finding the real killer, with the help of Raymond, his associate Casey Noland, FBI agent Landy, and a hacker named Zander. Suspicion initially falls on Matilda when Landy discovers she is secretly living with Jerry Korsak. Simon later confronts Matilda, who admits she made the anonymous call to stop the cremation at Jerry’s request.

A new suspect emerges when Loretta Goodwin, a charge nurse, reports the suspicious behavior of Oscar Kofie, an X-ray technician who had access to Netty’s room and an unusual knowledge of poisons. Zander hacks into hospital records and discovers Kofie has a history of working at hospitals where other mysterious deaths occurred. The trail leads Simon to Scranton, Pennsylvania, where he meets Alan Teel, a former lawyer. Teel reveals that his old firm had investigated Kofie for two previous poisonings. They confirmed Kofie was a serial poisoner but accepted a $50 million settlement from the hospital to cover it up, allowing Kofie to kill again. Teel provides Simon with the entire secret investigation file. Armed with this new evidence, the FBI raids Kofie’s apartment, finds his poison collection, and arrests him for murder. After a closed hearing where Teel and the FBI testify, the judge vacates Simon’s guilty verdict, dismisses all charges with prejudice, and declares him an innocent man.